I got really into Jane the Virgin this summer (season 3 October 17!), and since then I have noticed Gina Rodriguez (who plays Jane) everywhere. Virtually. Not in real life, unfortunately. This week she was promoting her latest movie, Deepwater Horizon, on The Tonight Show, and her rapping was awesome. Her passion is just as endearing in Women’s Health October 2016 interview where she said,

“People will say you are not skinny enough, not tall enough, not thick enough, not curvy enough, not white enough, not brown enough, not this enough. Well, I really hope you don’t feel that way about yourself, because then we’re all screwed. […] Stay in your lane, and do you.”

This is the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week! One of my favorite sources for literature and media, A Mighty Girl, has thoughtful suggestions for banned books to read and an article about Judy Blume’s fight against censorship. I’ve got a long library list. I believe in reading developmentally-appropriate books, but many books are challenged for being too honest about difficult circumstances, race, religion, sexuality, or for not matching mainstream social norms. Books that expand worldviews or allow readers to relate to a character and feel understood are so important, especially if they have painful or challenging themes and narratives.

My other reading lately has not been from the banned and challenged books lists, but I wanted to share recent favorites anyway.

Alexandra and I went with her BFF and her BFF’s mom to see Elephant and Piggie’s We Are in a Play at Children’s Theatre Company. As I hoped, it prompted an interest in Mo Willems‘ books. Most of his hilarious books are Easy Readers, and just right for her as a level 1 reader.

I’ve been reading the kids my favorite Halloween picture book, Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jane Manning. A brilliant twist on the nursery rhyme “Over in the Meadow”, spooky (but not scary) creatures are gorgeously illustrated. This book excels in rhyming, alliteration, counting, and esthetics.

I read Brain on Fire:My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan for my book club this month. It’s a memoir of her mysterious and rapid spiral to a psychotic break, her lifesaving diagnosis, and how she pieces herself back together. Her story is terrifying and heartwarming at the same time, and it raises awareness about the gaping need for collaboration between medical and psychiatric research and treatment.

Two sisters, Starla and Robin Krause, bought a house together in 1981. On the corner of a parkway in north Minneapolis, the 1931 Tudor had room to grow and a charming patina. At the time, Starla and Robin were Kansas transplants with just-budding careers, and now they are happy to be rooted and thriving Minnesotans. Through the years, they have invested their time and talents into the community. Starla is a caterer and Robin is a food stylist, and both have an enthusiasm for simple, whole and delicious cooking. They co-founded Kids Cook, where they teach and work alongside students and community volunteers to grow, harvest and prepare food in the schoolyard garden. I wasn’t surprised that this sense of cultivation and community-building is evident throughout their home.

Each month, I feature beautiful, funny and quizzical ways children contribute to a home’s esthetic. Whether it’s wall art, rows of race cars, dandelion bouquets or yogurt murals, children offer a fresh perspective and a sentimentality to interior design. Share your moments by tagging them #kidvignettes.